Lima Township continues to look at its options for the future of township hall. Renovate, build new or relocate, what will it be?

Over the past year it looked like the township would move forward on a renovation at the township hall located at 11452 Jackson Road. However, since the November election and over the past couple of board meetings, the “new” township board has taken another look at what to do there.

The plan that was presented over this past year or so was a renovation of the historic township hall that included adding office space there at an estimated cost of around $1.149 million.

The Sun Times News (STN) followed up with township officials to ask about the latest is. New Lima Township Supervisor Bill VanRiper said things are on hold at this time as they look at and discuss the options for it. He said among the various options, the one at South Fletcher might be the best fit for their needs and it might cost a lot less than what’s projected.

As the newly elected board convened in November they formed a committee to investigate this new option and compare it to other possibilities the board has considered. Township Clerk Ann Kwaske said at the board’s December meeting, the committee shared the list of building requirements that was created. 

The four options listed by the committee, according to Kwaske, were renovating the existing town hall on Jackson Road and building new offices on that lot, building new offices and town hall on the 16 acres the township owns on Lima Center Road behind Chelsea Area Fire Authority’s Station 2, building new offices on those 16 acres and re-locating the existing town hall to that lot, or purchasing and remodeling the building at 50 S. Fletcher Road, which is currently Speedy Spots and formerly a Stuckey’s. 

Kwaske said the purchasing of the Fletcher Road building was recently presented to the board as a potential option.

 At the Nov. meeting, a handful of residents addressed the future of township hall. STN was not at the meeting, but here are the minutes from the meeting and their portrayal of what those residents said:

“Du. Luick stated that many people would like to see the current Hall restored as it has historical and sentimental value, and that every community needs a place with history and the Hall is Lima’s place. J. Evens said maybe it doesn’t have to be either/or, and it’s possible to entertain that this has historic aspects while the other building sounds terrific for office space. E. Sensoli said that we need a program for the Town Hall with an objective list of needs to be met, and thanked Duane for his comments on the history. L. White believes that it would destroy the historic nature of the building by building an addition. T. Reynhout said research done in the past determined the building has no historic significance and the township needs a functional building soon.”